Muttaburasaurus

Muttaburra lizard

• Muttaburra · Place name (Australian) · Muttaburra (a town in Queensland, Australia, near where the fossils were found)
• saurus · Greek · lizard

The name combines "Muttaburra," a small town in central Queensland, Australia, with the Greek word "sauros" (lizard). The fossils were discovered near Muttaburra in 1963 by grazier Doug Langdon. The name honours the locality of the find, which is a common naming convention for Australian dinosaurs.

Named by

Bartholomai and Molnar

Year named

1981

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Albian

Found in

Mackunda Formation, Queensland, Australia

A large ornithopod dinosaur (iguanodontian), estimated at around 7–9 metres in length. It is one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons found in Australia. Notable for its unusually enlarged nasal arch, whose function (display, sound production, or enhanced sense of smell) is still debated. The type (and only) species is Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, honouring discoverer Doug Langdon.